TCC Book One: Prologue
by gwenjm
Summary: An origin story for the cheetah cleric. The first of a few stories about Cheetara NS Thundercats.
1. Chapter 1: The Lady

**_Prologue: Origins_**

**Book One of****_ The Cheetara Chronicles._**

**Author's note**: Some creative writing exercises I did turned into these story ideas. This origin story is the backdrop to a few tales I've written from the cheetah cleric's POV. This one is written in a bit of a formal style because the cast of characters are the high nobility of Thundera. The stories are explicitly **not** about shipping. The Chronicles follow the relationships established in the show, but as the stories unfold, I think there will eventually be nice moments between all the characters. Based on 2011 TCs. I don't own anything but the OCs and ideas here.

There are some spoilers for Into the Astral Plane, Native Son, and Survival of the Fittest at the end.

Thanks for reading.

**_Prologue: Origins_**

The royal throne chamber blazed with light from the afternoon sun, and the warmth of summer pressed through the towering chamber windows. King Claudus folded his arms and clenched his jaw as the sun lavished its heat upon his mane and shoulders. The King scowled and wished he were walking beneath oak trees that were swaying against the sky, and not detained in the throne chamber, behind its massive stone pillars. _A day like today should not have been wasted indoors_, he thought. Summer in Thundera brought gleaming white sunshine and expanses of crisp, green country, ripe for hunting with Lynx-O, or for swordplay with Panthro and Grune. In his youth, a day like this would have been filled with adventures in the oak forest, not squandered away watching an endless examination. But, today was a day to look to the future and to ensure that his son would be secure in it. Hunting in the oak forest would have to wait until he had settled the matter at hand.

Claudus lifted his chin, crinkled his brow, and glanced over at the Lady's pregnant belly. He stood silently, faking interest in the Lady as best he could. He was at the back of the throne chamber, and he kept two paces of distance between himself and Lord Lior, whose knobby elbows and sharp claws threatened to strike him at any moment. Lior was crouching and shifting, lurching forward and backward, rocking to and fro over the Queen's shoulders, as if all of his activity could possibly hasten Jaga's careful examination.

The Queen stood behind Jaga with her eyes fixed on the Lady. The Queen held the fluffy little tiger prince close to her breast and bounced him softly. Claudus looked at the Queen's shoulders. Her breathing seemed unusually shallow and still, but otherwise, she appeared fairly calm. Now Jaga squatted on the marble-tiled floor of the chamber and leaned against his wooden staff, his head and neck stretched out rather like a tortoise's. The old cleric trained his gray eyes on the Lady's abdomen and inspected her without speaking a single word. The silence in the chamber was only broken by the click...tick...click of the cleric's claws against his staff.

Claudus gritted his teeth and looked at the Lady. _I'll grant it, she does have a singular beauty_, he admitted. The Lady was a tall, lithe and sturdy-looking woman with lush yellow hair, golden fur and dark brown spots. Delicate lilac and powder blue silks adorned her shoulders and arms, complementing her brilliant blue eyes and tan facial markings. Her bright purple gown, decorated with golden trim, swept around her growing waist and tapered just above her ankles. Alternating blue sapphire and white diamond stones swirled around her ankles and secured purple silk spats around her feet. A fine golden necklace encrusted with royal blue sapphires and diamonds outlined her long neck, and the precious stones cast resplendent bursts of light against the chamber walls. The Lady stood erect as Jaga examined her. She ignored the old cleric, and looked off into the distance without comment or expression.

Claudus glanced toward the Queen and his mood softened. He did not blame her. Guilt and desperation over their failure to birth their own cub haunted her, despite the baby tiger's fortunate arrival. She had been frantic to establish the tiger prince as the legitimate heir to the crown. Of course she was right that securing the future queen for their son was a critical step. The young prince had to be betrothed quickly, but the Queen insisted on finding a match that would resolve agonizingly difficult considerations.

Their adopted tiger prince's lineage was not known, and they agreed they must marry the tiger to a descendant of Leo. If they did not, they would break the continuity of the lions' royal line, and more than one Thunderan King had lost his claw, and his head, for lesser crimes. The Queen had warned that joining the House of Claudus with any of the prominent Thunderan families carried political risks. As the Queen knew well, ambitious noblemen swarmed around Thundera like flies on the carcass of a gazelle. Raising any one of them to the status of royalty would practically invite a challenge to the tiger, or worse, to Claudus. To neutralize the threat, she searched for families outside of Thundera whose ancestry from Leo flowed through the wife,rather than the nobleman, and whose sons, even if lions, would have no greater right to the crown and the Sword of Omens than the tiger.

Claudus considered this entire process unnecessary. With the Sword he could defend against any threat and protect his son against any attack until the tiger was old enough to wield the Sword himself. And if his son could not muster the power to wield the Sword, well, political maneuvers could not shield him from the consequences. But Claudus supported the Queen in the process, if only to ease her conscience. And the Queen had chosen well. In the family she selected, the lion nobleman did not descend from Leo, and his wife was an elegant woman of fine heritage and a dear friend to the Queen.

Jaga touched the Lady's belly for the last time, and stood to deliver his conclusions.


	2. Chapter 2: Predictions

"Yes," Jaga said. "The child is female, and like her mother, she is a descendant of Leo."

A _girl_. The Lady smiled at this news. Jaga's brow darkened as he continued. "This child is of a rare lineage, and I sense powerful abilities within her. Her destiny is to serve the King."

"As his queen!" the Queen said, beaming.

"As a queen," Jaga acknowledged her. "The child is capable of magic. I foresee that she will protect the future King. Indeed, she will save his life during a time of peril."

Claudus scowled. _I've never known the old jaguar to make that kind of_ _mistake_, he thought. Claudus wished that Jaga had revealed this last detail to him alone, in private. Jaga, Claudus' cleric and knight, had been his mentor and protector since his birth. Publicly divulging the girl's destiny would certainly not help him in his negotiations and future dealings with Lord Lior. _Oh let Lior try to use this_, Claudus thought. But what was more, Claudus saw, Jaga's remark upset the Queen.

The Queen drew the Prince's forehead to her lips and wrapped him more tightly in her white silk scarf. "Will Tygra face grave threats, Jaga?" she asked, her voice pitched with fear.

Jaga thought before speaking, then took a slow breath. "Of course." he said. "That is the nature of our fragile peace. But the King of Thundera will have the heart and strength to surmount these challenges."

Claudus could see that Jaga's diplomacy had failed to convince the Queen. He took a different approach. "Jaga," the King asked, "tell us more about this baby girl. When is she due to be born?"

Jaga approached the Lady and grasped her belly. He jumped back suddenly and withdrew his fingers. "Soon," Jaga said. "This little one is impatient."

The Lady inhaled sharply and placed a long slender hand on her abdomen to calm the child. "She will certainly be fast like me," the Lady said.

"And what can you tell us of this . . . magic . . . she possesses?" The King asked the cleric.

Lior turned, deftly shifting his agile frame, and fixed his rose-colored eyes on Claudus.

Jaga continued. "Her magic derives from the same spirits who protected your ancestor Leo, and who guide our own clerisy. I can feel that this child channels their power already, my Lord."

"And, have you any reservations about that power, Jaga?" Claudus asked.

The Queen swiveled backward to face King Claudus and peered at him through icy aqua blue crystals; she tossed her burgundy mane toward him and the pace of her breathing increased.

"Reservations? No, none, Sire," Jaga replied.

The Queen finally had enough. "You see, Claudus?" she began. "The girl is of a rare and proud noble line, descendant from your ancestor Leo. She will be highborn, beautiful, and fast like her mother. She is capable of magic, and is protected by spirits whom she is humbly destined to channel in service to our own son the future king."

The Queen's eyes widened as she continued. "Nay, not just in any common service, she is destined to protect his very life. What other questions could we have, Claudus? What say you, my Lord?"

Claudus sighed. He understood that in this matter, the Queen's invitation to him to speak was not an invitation to say very much. "It would seem that everything is in order, Jaga." The King said simply. He turned and addressed his wife. "My Queen, assuming a successful birth, you have my blessing to establish this match with my son thereby joining our family with the House of Lior."

At this, Lord Lior roared and swung his head skyward, throwing a shock of his rust-colored mane toward Claudus. He pumped his trunk-like arms and twisted his ample torso around to face the King, but stopped short of reaching up to clap Claudus on the back. Claudus grunted. Lior was a large man, but not as large as himself, Claudus noted; Claudus knew Lior as the nobleman, heir and regent to a vast territory of fertile lands to the east of Thundera that separated the Kingdom of Thundera from the Realm of Jagara. And Lior belonged to a family of lions that had enjoyed wealth and ease for generations. But unlike Claudus, he was not a descendant of any of the five royal lines of Leo and Panthera.

Claudus glowered at Lord Lior; he found the regent rather ostentatious in his dress and displays of wealth. Lior wore shiny golden ropes around his neck that were decorated with blue sapphires and white diamonds, the symbols of his House. His polished white teeth flashed within a well-set square jaw, which was dimpled at the chin. Lior's large rose-colored eyes glimmered like rubies set within the rose-colored facial markings that framed them.

Lior put his fists on his hips and his heavy purple robe fell open. His thin white tunic only fastened up to the second button, revealing his furry, broad and sculpted chest. Lior had cinched his white pants low around his long narrow waist to boast on the eight tightly-packed and crisply defined muscles of his abdomen and stone-hard obliques. The intricate gold embroidery at his sleeves glittered and showcased sharp and carefully manicured claws. The white belt around his waist was also embroidered with golden thread, outlining a clasp at his side that secured the long, thick sheath for his sword. This sheath was now empty; Lior at least had the grace not to bring his weapon to the throne chamber to meet the King of Thundera. This was Lior's first child, and Claudus observed that Lior seemed almost giddy with anticipation. Lior turned sideways and flashed his grin at the Queen, winking at her in celebration. The Queen nodded and smiled graciously in return. Claudus felt a hot flush rising from his chest, consuming his cheeks and the tips of his ears.


	3. Chapter 3: A Cleric Found

The Queen chirped with pleasure at Claudus' decision. "This is wonderful news!" The Queen smiled at Claudus. She kissed the little tiger prince and danced him in her arms. "Do you hear that, my handsome little Prince? We have found you a queen!"

The Queen turned to the Lady. "Chiana, my dear, we must begin the preparations for a celebration!"

"You are most gracious, my Queen," Lady Chiana dipped at the knees and nodded in deference.

"Come." The Queen extended an elbow toward Lady Chiana. "Let us leave the men to arrange the details of the joining of Houses." Lady Chiana placed her slender fingers in the crook of the Queen's arm. The Queen led the Lady toward the sun-lit throne chamber balcony where her handmaidens were preparing a celebratory tea for the women in honor of their agreement. "We shall be as sisters!" The Queen declared.

Claudus watched the women glide away arm in arm, with the trains of their white and purple gowns trailing behind them, the Prince in tow. Jaga left to prepare the afternoon exercises for the senior clerics. Claudus turned toward Lord Lior and faced him squarely. "We shall not be as brothers," the King growled. His navy cape flapped behind him as he led the younger lion to the war room to commence the negotiations.

Lady Chiana let the Queen lead her to the honored seat facing the central city and its outlying farmlands; a clear blue topaz sky soared above. She looked out from the high balcony and focused her far vision onto the verdant hillside. Miles in the distance to the east, Chiana could identify forests of oak trees by their shingled bark and paw-like leaves, and elms by their slit-like bark and leaves with serrated edges. From miles away, without squinting, Chiana could see a red-breasted cardinal perched at the edge of its nest in an oak tree near the outer walls of the city. While squinting, she could make out the sienna-colored earthworm the bird dangled over its nest from its beak.

Chiana then looked at the table before her. The Queen had prepared high tea with Chiana's favorite foods. Upon a pressed white linen table cloth, tiered silver platters held small marble plates filled with thinly sliced smoked salmon sandwiches; a rare liga-bird pâté spread over sweet wafers; palga eggs boiled, sliced, and stuffed with whipped egg yolks, mushrooms and spices; and sliced water fruit on sponge bread. Silver finger bowls held raw salmon eggs. Delicate tissues caressed round dessert cakes glazed, topped, drizzled or filled with candyfruits obtained in trade from the four cat realms surrounding Thundera. Chiana smelled the fragrant tea, sweet with blossoms from the Queen's own garden. The women ate, heartily celebrating their accomplishment.

_Flawless_. Lady Chiana smiled to herself. She admired the Queen and everything that she was made of, from the stylish aqua-colored threads that detailed the hems of her gowns, to her clear-eyed and politic management of the kingdom. As the women dined together, Chiana reflected on how deeply the Queen had influenced the course of her own life. Until she became engaged to Lior, Chiana had studied as a cleric under the great Jagara herself. Now the Queen had become her mentor as Chiana shed her cleric's robes and adopted the ways of the nobility.

Lady Chiana first met the Queen, then the newly married Princess, when she accompanied Lior on one of his trade missions near the lizard-occupied woodlands beyond the Sand Sea. Lord Lior brought Lady Chiana with him on this mission to introduce her to society. The Lady and the future Queen gravitated toward each other, despite Lior's prodding, and fell into a passionate conversation during which they left the trading party to gather mushrooms from the forest for soup. Chiana remembered it well: without warning, five lizard women had surrounded them, hissing out a grievance. Chiana had drawn the future Queen close to her side and together they approached the lizard women. She coolly greeted these lizards in a language the Queen had never heard, gave them Thunderan shillings for any damage done to the mushroom beds, and bid them goodbye. During the quick walk back to the trading party, the two women shared common views on the hostilities between cats and lizards. The Queen asked Chiana how she had learned to speak with the lizards at all. The Lady explained how, as a girl, she had actually known seven lizard families, and she had convinced Lior to let them dwell on their lands. These lizards now worked as domestics for her family, and for other nobles in their territory. "They actually make quite good tea," Chiana had joked.

The Queen had praised Lady Chiana for her gallantry and invited the Lady to the palace on occasion. Through the years, Lady Chiana took those opportunities to observe the Queen's habits, and manner with the noblemen who had business with the King. Chiana fashioned her own relationships with Lior and his business partners after the Queen's authoritarian style; she used her position to demand an audience, gave her commands as _suggestions_ to soften their delivery, and smoothed interactions with soft kisses and gentle touches to redirect a wayward nobleman while protecting his sense of virility. It was in this way that Chiana transformed herself from cleric to Lady. She felt she owed her life to the Queen and was determined to serve her every wish.

"Do not concern yourself with the negotiations," the Queen smiled at the Lady. "Claudus will agree to the additional guards, security, and treasure as you and I have already discussed. And not a shilling less!"

"And Lior will agree to the expansion of territory within our lands that can be leased to Thunderan farmers, I assure you." Chiana said. "I have told Lior that he could never convince Claudus to provide so generously, and he will be pleased with himself when he emerges with this settlement!" The two women laughed together.

"May I hold him?" Lady Chiana reached out to Prince Tygra.

"But of course!" the Queen smiled broadly and rested the infant in Chiana's lap.

"He's so handsome!"

"Yes, my precious little Tygra," the Queen cooed.

Tygra reached upward from Chiana's lap and touched her enormous belly. The tiger prince giggled with delight at the furious flutter within Chiana's womb.

"Yes, Tygra, that is your queen!" the Queen laughed. "He likes her already!"

"Oh!" Chiana gasped as her child raced and flipped about in the tiny space. "I think she likes him, too!"

"Come here Tygra," the Queen pulled the Prince away from the Lady's lap to spare her the discomfort. Tygra grasped at the fabric on Chiana's lap and mewed a sharp and piercing cry as his mother tried to loosen his hold on the purple gown. Large watery pools formed beneath the Prince's light brown eyes, and his sobs rang out into the open air.

"Now, Tygra!" the Queen clicked her tongue. "We will behave ourselves, won't we? Yes! We have guests, my sweet little one!" The Queen nestled Tygra closely against her breast and calmed him.

Chiana was quiet for a moment before addressing a far more serious matter. "My Queen, I know that the cleric's words upset you." Lady Chiana looked at the Queen directly. "I want you to know that I have taken Jaga's prophecy to heart. I will raise a queen who will serve her king, and with my dying breath I will make sure that she has every skill and power needed to protect his life. I swear it to you."

The Queen pursed her lips and nodded. Chiana knew the Queen would not allow her tears to fall.

"I knew I had chosen wisely." The lion Queen smiled softly. "And of course, we shall extend the title of Princess to your daughter when she is married to the Prince before he is made King. Princess . . . ." the Queen searched for words. "What name is she to be called?" she asked.

"With your permission," Chiana replied, "I would humbly request that she be called after the mother of Claudus, 'Her Majesty Queen Leah the Thirty-fourth of the Honorable Kingdom of Thundera, Descendant of the Cheetah Line of His Royal Highness Leo and Her Royal Highness Panthera'." Lady Chiana paused to take a breath. "I humbly accept the title of Princess Leah after she is of age to be married to the Prince." Lady Chiana smiled brightly. "And as is the tradition, during the betrothal period we will simply call her after my mother, Lady Cheetara."

"_Leah_," the Queen nodded with approval. "A lovely and perfect name. We will prepare the rites to welcome Leah into the world and into our family."

The Queen grasped Chiana's hand tightly within her own. Cheetara turned and fluttered within Chiana's womb. Lady Chiana placed her other hand upon her belly to soothe the child.

**oOo**

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**Author's note**: (spoilers for Astral Plane, Survival of the Fittest ) Most assume that Cheetara was an orphan from poverty, but that backstory doesn't really explain how well she was dressed, or, her manner when she appears in Thundera in the flashback episode Into the Astral Plane. Compared to the Wilys, who definitely looked like they'd been on their own on the streets, Cheetara looked better cared for. Also, the Wilys weren't actually orphans either as I assumed, so it's possible that Cheetara's mysterious background had more of a twist than we think.


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